European Ceramics

1487-1494 The Laureate of the Lost Villa​2017 SOLD for $ 900K including premium

The Florentine sculptor Luca della Robbia who died in 1482 had developed a glazed ceramic technique that could replace marble for the decoration of palazzi. The activity of his workshop became prosperous with his nephew and successor Andrea, a prolific supplier to the Tuscan churches.

The art of Andrea is very recognizable with most often a realistic white figure in high relief centered over a flat sky blue background in a tondo. The figure of a laureate identifiable with two lateral ribbons perfectly matches that description. It is estimated over $ 200K for sale by Christie's in New York on April 28, lot 9.

This bust 41 cm in diameter is inspired from the antiques with its curly hair, its beard, its proud attitude and its reddish-brown upper toga. It is mounted in a frame also in terracotta 62 cm in diameter adorned with fruits, vegetables and pine cones and attributed to the Della Robbia workshops. The antiquity of both elements is confirmed by a thermoluminescence test.

The theme of the laureate is rare and correlates this work with the project of the Poggio Reale villa for which a Neapolitan archive indicates that the Della Robbias provided four crates of glazed heads in circular frames.

Alfonso of Aragon duke of Calabria, heir to the kingdom of Naples, is unpopular because he loves too much pleasure and luxury. With the help of Lorenzo de' Medici who delegated his best architect to him, he starts in 1487 on a knoll near Naples the Poggio Reale villa destined to be for his own use the symbol of paradise on earth.

Events are rushing. The weak Alfonso now King of Naples since January 1494 is an easy prey for the French King Charles VIII heir to the fallen competing dynasty of Anjou. In autumn of the same year the French troops destroy the still unfinished Poggio Reale. Nothing remains of the villa except the memory of its extreme luxury and of its gardens which will inspire the French Renaissance.

The laureate surfaced at Christie's in 1902. Is it the ultimate witness of Poggio Reale or an additional copy that had not been delivered (and had been later framed in the studio) ? It does not matter : it is altogether a remarkable example of the work of Andrea della Robbia, one of the most original artists of the Italian Renaissance, and a sensational direct or indirect witness of the lost villa.

1525 Maiolica Tondino from Urbino2009 SOLD for € 1.18M including premium by Christie's

1570-1580 Porcelain Charger from Medici Workshop1994 SOLD for FF 8.8M before fees by Ferri

1732 The Bustard of the Porcelain Palace​2016 SOLD for £ 840K including premium

The ambition of Frederick Augustus of Saxony, who was also king of Poland as Augustus II, was as excessive as his physical strength. He wanted that the furnishings and celebrations of his network of palaces in Dresden exceed Versailles in luxury and changed his mistresses as frequently as the Roi Soleil had done.

Augustus the Strong shelters in Dresden the very young alchemist Böttger who had acquired the reputation of knowing to transmute metals into gold. This is not possible and the elector is upset. The study of earthenware saved the scientist. Thus was born the Meissen porcelain factory. The elector then requested to do better than the Chinese porcelain.

The menagerie of porcelains made for Augustus is the most spectacular achievement of the early Meissen. It is part of a larger project of Porzellanschloss centered on a porcelain throne. The elector has maintained in the taste of his time a menagerie of live animals that served as models for the Meissen artists. His active and enthusiastic participation in the biggest animal tossing contest of his time nevertheless disqualifies him as a friend of the beasts.

The originality of Meissen lies in the realization of real sculptures, in the opposite to the Chinese porcelain that has a utilitarian purpose. The modeller J. G. Kirchner produced original clay statues of birds and other small animals in life size. He was assisted from 1731 by J.J. Kändler.

It is illusory to catch up in a few years the multi-centennial Chinese experience. The first pieces of the menagerie make obvious that the process is still in its development phase, with a high risk of firing cracks. They should have been colored but the enamel does not adhere to that porcelain.

Augustus dies in 1733 before the population of the porcelain menagerie is sufficient to perform a group exhibition that will never be realized. Fortunately his successor does not stop the production. The stabilization of techniques and colors and the diversification of themes will be the work of Kändler who will devote to it the last forty years of his life.

The bustard, 84 cm high standing against a stump, is one of the largest birds in the porcelain menagerie of Augustus the Strong. It is very elegant with its folded neck to preen the back. The model designed in 1732 is attributed to Kirchner. It was executed in six porcelain units of which only one remains in private hands. This piece is estimated £ 700K for sale by Christie's in London on July 7, lot 305.

1733 The Menageries of the Saxon Elector2011 SOLD 1.08 M€ including premium

The Elector Frederick Augustus of Saxony was an extravagant character. He resided in Dresden, where he encouraged the arts, and was also King of Poland under the reign name of Augustus II.

Not far away, the city of Meissen operated a kaolin mine. The skill of Meissen chemists had finally enabled Europe to imitate the hard porcelain of China. Frederick Augustus greatly helped the development of this factory.

The Elector was passionate about animals, and maintained in parallel a menagerie of live animals and a menagerie of porcelains that were created ​​for him by the Meissen manufacture. Famous for his colossal strength and his virility, he particularly admired the lions.

A couple of lying lions made in white porcelain circa 1732 on a model by Kirchner had been provided to the collection of the Elector. This pair of porcelains 80 cm long was sold £ 2.8 million including premium by Christie's on 18 December 2006.

A sitting lioness 74 cm high, also from a model by Kirchner, is for sale by Lempertz in Cologne on November 17. Made in January 1733, it was initially kept at the factory, probably due to the death of the prince. Coming now from a private collection, this unpublished specimen is estimated € 800K.

POST SALE COMMENT

Excellent result for this curious and historical piece that was recently discovered: € 1.08 million including premium.

1753-1755 Hercules in Florence2011 SOLD 660 K£ including premium

Meissen had started the ​​fashion of porcelain statuettes. Doccia will link this technique with the major art of ancient and modern sculpture.

In 1737, the Florentine aristocrat Carlo Ginori had indeed established a factory in his home, the villa Doccia. Copies of masterpieces of ancient sculpture were created from casts taken from smaller versions in marble or bronze.

These large porcelain pieces are technical feats. In addition, they have certainly served as efficiently as bronzes to republish the best of ancient art.

82 cm high and made in Doccia circa 1753-1755, a Farnese Hercules in porcelain is for sale on December 7in London by Bonhams. Estimated £ 300K, it is illustrated in the press release shared by Artdaily.

POST SALE COMMENT

The estimate was too low for a piece of such a rarity. It was sold £ 550K before fees, 660K including premium.

1763 Bureau plat by Joseph with Sèvres porcelain plaques2005 SOLD 6.9 M€ including premium by Artcurial

1778-1780 The Exquisite Porcelaine de France2011 SOLD 1.35 M€ including premium

The French luxury furniture maintained a high standard throughout the eighteenth century, and reached around 1770 the pinnacle of elegance. To appeal to wealthy clients, the marchands-merciers commuted between cabinetmakers and decorators. Arbiters of taste, they knew how to select the best.

The plaques in Sèvres porcelain generate a luminous appearance to small pieces of furniture designed to please to the ladies. Dating from late-Louis XV, a wonderful desk stamped by Joseph (Baumhauer), 76 x 114 x 58 cm, was sold € 6.9 million including premium by Artcurial in Paris on December 13, 2005.

On April 6 in Paris, Sotheby's sells a secrétaire en cabinet with open sides, 121 x 96 x 33 cm. It is decorated with five plaques of Sèvres porcelain, including two very large floral pictures in celestial blue oval enclosures.

Although this piece is stamped by Weisweiler, the catalog is prudent. Realized towards 1778-1780, at the beginning of the brilliant career of this master cabinetmaker, it could also have been made ​​by Carlin, which would be just as well. On the side of the marchands-merciers, the privileged relationship of Poirier and Daguerre (who were cousins ​​and partners) with Sèvres is established.

This cabinet is sufficiently exquisite to ensure that this uncertainty on the maker will have no effect on its price, estimated € 1.5 M.

POST SALE COMMENT

€ 1.35 million including premium for this secrétaire, not meeting its estimate.

For luxuous pieces of French furniture and furnishings of eighteenth century, I know a good address: Sotheby's Paris.
As I have already written in the group Furniture, this house brings
great decorative care to their exhibitions before sales, and their room
in the Galerie Charpentier is then transformed into the interior of a
palace. The catalogues are extremely detailed.

The sale of October 2 will be entirely devoted to a collection.

Lot 48, a pair of candelabra, is typical of top French taste of the
reign of Louis XVI and its royal origin confirms it as one of the
highlights of the sale.

The main ornament of each piece is a draped caryatide figure in biscuit
de Sèvres according to a model of Louis Simon Boizot, head of the
sculpture workshop of the factory. It is mounted on a cylindrical base
also in Sèvres, and supports five gilded bronze arm lights decorated
with arabesques. The mount could be attributed to Pierre-Philippe
Thomire, who was the titular bronzier of Sèvres. The total height is
128 cm.

This pair was probably the one offered by Louis XVI in 1785 to his
cousin Princess of Asturias, and was later transferred from the royal
family of Spain to the very prestigious collection of Mentmore Towers.

It is estimated 800 K €.

POST SALE COMMENT

The pieces of highest decoration from the French eighteenth century can
make prices equivalent to the top pieces of furniture. Here is a proof
with our pair of candelabra, sold 1.4 million € fees included.

1787 Milk Art in Sèvres2011 SOLD 1.1 M€ including premium

Marie-Antoinette considered that the top chic was to dress up as a farm working woman in the Hameau de la Reine, which was built for her in the park of Versailles. She was milking cows or ewes royally pampered for her use. This caprice was echoed in the productions of porcelain from the Manufacture Royale de Sèvres.

King Louis XVI lamented his wife's disdain for the château of Rambouillet. He tried to install a dairy such as in Versailles and commissioned a Sèvres service. From 1787, the factory completed 65 pieces of hard porcelain for this set. The Revolution interrupted the work, obviously, and the existing pieces were scattered.

A milk jug 25 cm high is presented for sale in Paris on February 11 byAguttes. Designed by Jean-Jacques Lagrenée, it is a large ewer in neo-Etruscan style. A revolving scene shows two young people in antique dress, between two strips of stylized palms and floral motifs. The boy gives drink to a goat, another goat accepts vine leaves offered by the girl. The solid handle is a goat protome whose horns join the top of the pot.

This piece is not a royal memory, since it was not used. Under these conditions, the estimate of € 200K may seem ambitious.

POST SALE COMMENT

My article was too cautious. This piece was much more exceptional than I had imagined. It was sold € 1.1 million including premium. This result was published on the blog of the auctioneer, also indicating that it could be classified (French) Trésor National in the coming days.

1811 Imperial Sèvres2011 SOLD 983 K€ including premium

The Manufacture de porcelaines de Sèvres (Sèvres porcelain factory) had been royal and subsequently imperial. Specializing in hard paste porcelain, it was directed by Alexandre Brongniart, a chemist and mineralogist who was developing new techniques of polychrome painting.

Napoléon, always concerned with luxury and always ready to promote his family has commissioned in 1811 a pair of vases to be presented to his younger brother Jérôme, King of Westphalia.

Of "Medicis" shape, 66 cm high, they are decorated with gentle scenes located in the vicinity of Sèvres. On one of them, the emperor and his young wife Marie-Louise go by carriage in front of the castle of Saint-Cloud. On the other, he is riding with some courtiers in hunting dress in the hills over the Seine valley. Both paintings are signed by Jean-François Robert.

This exceptional pair of imperial vases is estimated € 500K, for sale in Parison October 26 by Sotheby's in collaboration with Piasa. Here is the link to the catalog page.

POST SALE COMMENT

The Imperial origin helped this beautiful pair of vases to achieve a remarkable price: € 983K including premium.

1833 The Gigantic Porcelains of St. Petersburg2013 SOLD 2.2 M£ including premium

A pair of vases had been announced in an auction scheduled for April 17, 2013 with an estimate of $ 1M to 1.5M The auction house, Dallas Auction Gallery, had preferred to accept an offer before the sale and the pair was removed. Bloomberg reported for this private transaction a price of $ 2.7 M.

This exceptional lot is now estimated £ 2M, for sale by Sotheby's in London on November 26. I republish below my article issued before the cancellation of the Dallas auction lot. In a style imitating Sèvres, the porcelains from the Imperial Factory of St. Petersburg reached gigantic sizes in the reign of Nicholas I, becoming one of the best symbols of the Tsarist opulence at that time. These vases, most often presented in pairs, are true engineering feats.

During the 1920s that were so difficult economically for Russia, one of these pairs was purchased by an American oil tycoon to garnish his mansion in Oklahoma City. They were in this place since so long that the heirs were not aware of their historical importance and felt them rather cumbersome.

Like all other pieces in this category, they are bandeau shaped with gilt handles of acanthus leaves. The picture on one of them, showing a concert, is a copy of a painting that was lent by the Hermitage to the Factory in 1832 to serve as a model.

The porcelains of Oklahoma are dated 1833 and their height, 1.38 m, is particularly noteworthy. The later pair unsold at Christie's in November 2011, dated 1835 and 1836, had the same size. Made still later, in 1848, the pair sold £ 2.6 million including premium by Sotheby's on 10 June 2009 had the largest size reached during the reign of Nicholas, 1.50 m.POST SALE COMMENT

This lot was sold for £ 2.2 million including premium, confirming the opinion of Sotheby's that it is one of the most beautiful pair of vases from St. Petersburg. I invite you to play the video shared by Sotheby's :

1848 The Presentation of the Porcelains to the Tsar2009 SOLD 2.6 M£ including premium

Twice a year, at Easter and Christmas, the Imperial manufactories of
porcelain and glassware offered to the Tsar the most prestigious pieces
created in their workshops. Thus the Emperor Nicholas I furnished the private apartments of the Imperial Palace.

Financially, these gifts were offset by increasing orders from the
Emperor for offering similar pieces to his allies in the ruling royal
and ducal families of other countries. I have already had occasion to
note in this group the role that gifting had for aristocratic cohesion
at the Imperial court of Russia.

The pair of porcelain vases from St. Petersburg that Sotheby's is selling in London on June 10 is a technical feat. Dated 1848, 1.5 meters high, it is the largest format that has been done at that time by this factory.

These enormous vases are adorned with ring shaped reproductions of
paintings from the collection of Catherine the Great, in this case two
stables scenes of Philips Wouwerman.

Russians love the memories of the palace. The estimate also is imperial: £ 1.2 million.

POST SALE COMMENT

The estimate was literally exploded, which is rare at such a price
level. This confirms the exceptional nature of this pair of vases, sold
£ 2.6 million including premium.